I did some serious adulting yesterday and signed a contract for my very first house. A lovely townhome in a new development. It was the last available model up for grabs though they will build some more in August, but seeing as how my current lease expires in June, this works out to my advantage. Aiming to close by late May, early June and be settled in by then.

Congratulations !!!!!!I will call ahead and have them clear you a path to Ikea.

IKEA may get my business gradually. The living room needs furniture, plus now that I can poke holes in walls, I can finally begin to decorate to my liking. Gonna have to visit my nearest IKEA (about an hour away) and see firsthand what they have (yeah, there's internet, but nothing like seeing it in person).

Okie wrote:

I take it you decided not to move to Florida.

That is correct. I sat down with my bosses and they countered to the point where I know the other company was not able to offer more (and if they did, it would have broken protocols as it would have been paying me above market and/or promoting me while not being qualified for either).

Aesma wrote:

Congrats !

I'm hoping to do that this year too. I'm a bit worried about the financing, will rates go up till then ? I see that in the US they're already much higher than here, maybe that's usual.

Thanks. I decided to move in and try to lock a decent interest rate. I know the Fed has two more rate increases on the horizon this year alone. I had called earlier in the week to throw numbers and the lender said I'd be at 3.75%. I didn't pull the trigger immediately because I wasn't too sold on the model I had originally seen. However, yesterday I saw the next floor plan and when I spoke with the lender, she said I can lock in at 3.5%. While I was still hesitant, the numbers just look too good to pass up. I'd be paying the same on mortgage as I do with rent (oh, and no money down). I am planning to rent out the second bedroom in order to recover the money from closing costs, but for the most part, it shouldn't be too different than my current situation (except the place in mine and mine alone).

Congratulations. I take it the government doesn't have anything like stamp duty owed to it? Just bought our first place on the edge of London and for just short of £400k you get about 90sq meters. Yes trips to Ikea.. Have fun and invest in a decent power driver.. Saves a lot of time.

Congrats mate!It's a great feeling buying your first place but also a bit scary, eh?As for IKEA... I love the place and most of the furniture in my house is from there, some heavily 'modified' though....We could start a whole new IKEA thread lol....Best of luck with the new place!Bunumuring.

It's a great feeling buying your first place but also a bit scary, eh?

After I signed the paperwork and left, I felt just as I did when I bought my car: all I was thinking was "what in the world did I just do?!".

There's gonna be some serious hunkering down needed: at least all the appliances I could need will come included (by signing when I did, they threw in a washer and dryer combo). But I need to install curtains/drapes/blinds.

If there's an HOA (assumed yes), as much as it sucks, be active, because there are always people who think it is their job to tell everyone else what to do and how to do it, and they're always eager to spend your money in the process.

Our first night in the new house (1962) as we were getting ready to go to bed, my wife screamed...."THE NEIGHBORS CAN SEE IN OUR WINDOWS!"

We had completely overlooked in our planning the need for shades and curtains. We probably had $100 to last until my next paycheck.

17 windows and sliding glass patio doors. Bank balance was down to $10 the next day.

Aaaah, the memories.

The price of fitted curtains was eye watering! £600 for 190cm x 180cm. We ended up buying the ready made that were a little bigger for only £80.

Nets weren't too bad at fitted for about £30 which was a bargain. A lot of the independent stores were better than ikea... who seem to have a drop of 3 metres for their curtains.. Who has ceiling that high?

Don't forget to wrangle the biggest new tv you can as this is the easiest time to justify that sort of purchase if you have another half...

Congrats on the new home! I can clearly remember buying ours in '70. We had a VA loan so nothing down and no closing costs. Light bulbs and toilet paper was all that was needed.

While IKEA may have a bad reputation for some it does provide some furniture at a low cost. We renovated our son's kitchen with IKEA cabinets and they perform better than the local work done on our kitchen reface. Both have the soft close parts (a dream) and IKEA uses the same company as our contractor got from a local distributor. Same quality parts.

IKEA's primary position is that they do not ship air. Flat packs save money for the company.

At the same time, there are a lot of different stores to walk through. And sometimes garage sales.

Have a great time getting ready and an even better time moving in!

Some furniture can be cheap, but will do the job for some time - until you are ready to upgrade.

Some furniture can be cheap, but will do the job for some time - until you are ready to upgrade.

Yep. If it gets the job done while I save for a true overhaul, I'll take it. Don't want an empty space either. So far, only the family room will get the IKEA treatment. Eventually, the dining room could also be replaced.

If you do throw you money away on that junk glue as well as screw it together.

Not a bad idea. A thin bead of cheap, yellow wood glue (Titebond II or III) is stronger than most wood.

It is a good idea, it works as well. I don't get why flatpack furniture makers don't advise people to glue and screw.

Probably to be able to disassemble for easier moving. When I moved from MO to MD, the first thing the movers saw was the IKEA couch that I have. They hated IKEA furniture because it meant having to disassemble it prior to moving. However, had I left it together through glue, I would not have the couch today. Just how do you move a sectional through a door?

nice digs. congrats. where were all you posters 4 months ago when i helped my boss decorate his new home with IKEA furniture. His couch and two chairs have missing screws. though i must say his house looks great if i had to do it again, i think i would go a step up from IKEA.

i think my biggest mistake was decorating his home with white shaggy dog rugs, they look great but the stains just keep popping up.